COURSE: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: ISSUES, PRINCIPLES AND PRACTISE

UNGS 1201
SEMESTER 1, 2021/2022

INDIVIDUAL REPORT
‘ END THE POVERTY IN MALAYSIA’

NAME : AZZA ADILA BINTI ROSLY

MATRICS NO : 2114252
SECTION : 32
SUBMISSION DATE : 05/01/2021
LECTURER’S NAME : DR. SYED MARWAN MUJAHID BIN SYED AZMAN
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this era of globalization, poverty is becoming one of the biggest issues in every part of the
world. Poverty comes in many forms, varies over time and place, and has been described in a
variety of ways. More than 700 million people, or 10% of the world's population, continue to live
in extreme poverty, unable to meet even the most basic needs such as health, education, and
access to water and sanitation. Furthermore, despite having a job, 8% of the world's workers and
their families lived in extreme poverty in 2018. This proves that a lot of people are still
struggling to meet their most basic human needs and poverty is one of the major problems in
humanity. The Sustainable Development Goal is also known as the Global Goals, is a global call
to action to eradicate poverty, safeguard the environment, and promote peace and prosperity for
all people. The objective of this essay is to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 1 aim was
to end poverty in all of its forms everywhere, and one of its objectives was to build the resilience
of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and to reduce their exposure and vulnerability to
climate-related extreme events by 2030

Poverty is defined as a condition in which a person or community lacks the financial resources
and necessities required for a basic standard of living. Besides that, poverty is also categorized as
"the condition of someone who does not have a normal or socially acceptable amount of money
or material possessions" (Merriam,2011). In general, poverty exists in rural or urban areas.
Poverty is classified into three types: absolute poverty, relative poverty, and social exclusion. In
this case, the first definition focuses on relative poverty or being poor in comparison to others in
the same society. The issue of poverty will exist regardless of whether you live in the wealthiest
or poorest countries because there is a high level of inequality between people. Due to their low
incomes, they struggle to maintain their health, food, and education. They do not have public
power which makes it even more difficult for them to escape from poverty.

Overall, the issue of poverty in Malaysia will be addressed in this report in order to warrant us
on the causes of poverty in Malaysia, as well as the consequences of the issue. In this study, we
will also look at ways to achieve SDG 1, which is to end poverty. Therefore, to achieve the
SDGs, we must prioritize vulnerable populations, improve access to basic resources and services,
and assist communities affected by conflict and climate-related disasters. As a result, the
problems that the Malaysian population faces will be identified in order to assist them in
overcoming poverty and income inequality

2.0 STUDY FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

2.1 CAUSES OF POVERTY IN MALAYSIA
First and foremost, unemployment is one of the many factors that contribute to poverty in
Malaysia. Simply put, many people are impoverished because they are unable to find work that
has to pay a living wage. Due to a lack of job opportunities. According to the Department of
Statistics, Malaysia's unemployment rate increased to 5.3 percent in May 2020 from 5 percent in
April 2020, as the number of unemployed people increased by 47,300 to 826,100, the highest
rate in 27 years. This results in an employment crisis in the city, which is becoming more
common among Malaysian people that will lead to poverty. Individuals are more likely to
become long-term unemployed once they are out of work. It has been discovered that the
characteristics of living in poor neighborhoods create a poverty trap because families lack the
necessary tools to become employed. Rural poverty is irreversible due to low productivity.
Moreover, due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis continues to have a negative impact on
low-income urban families in Malaysia.

Lack of education is the root factor of poverty in Malaysia. Poverty and education are closely
entwined because education is known as the great equalizer. It can provide job resources, and
skills they need to survive and succeed. Education is vital because it gives access to high-quality
primary supporting child well-being to end the cycle of poverty. Those who live in poverty are
more likely to keep their children out of school, which means that their children have high
possibilities of living in poverty. Therefore, leaving them without the education and skills
necessary to develop in their careers and can lead to jobless and poverty.

Lastly, high living costs are one of the contributions to poverty. This is because in our country
there are low earnings for a living wage. Malaysia reported an additional 12.5% of households
earning less than RM2,500 in 2020. It even worse when the living cost is are rising due to some
factors. For example, an increase in average food prices, housing, education, and healthcare.
This caused pressure to particularly low and middle-income city dwellers. As a result, it is
difficult to make ends meet, particularly for low- and middle-income groups. All in all, it clearly
demonstrates a significant gap between consumer price (CPI) inflation and rising living costs
which will increase the amount of poverty in the city.

2.2 EFFECTS OF POVERTY

Poverty can have a negative impact on a child's development. This crisis affects infants,
newborns, children, adolescence, and adults but children who are poor have more human
development issues. The most obvious impact of child poverty is Malaysia’s persistent
malnutrition rate. 20.7% of children aged under 5 years are stunted, while 11.9% are wasted
which indicates a serious public health concern (IPH, 2016). This shows the foundation of
human growth begins in childhood. If a child has been exposed to poverty early in life, they are
more likely to have a lack of nutrition, hunger, socioemotional disorders, neglect, abuse, mental
and physical health issues. Indeed UNICEF’s study on child poverty in urban Kuala Lumpur
found that 52% of families in these deprived communities did not have money to buy food in
recent months while 15% experienced this regularly (UNICEF, 2018). Therefore, those who have
experienced poverty, mostly they are struggling with their well-being, education, and social
circles.

Another effect of poverty is vulnerability. Vulnerability is exposed to the possibility of being

attacked or harmed. As poor people are highly exposed to emergencies and stress. They are
unable to cope with these circumstances owing to a lack of capital or other resources. For
example, the poor community does not have the necessary buffers to protect them from shocks
and natural disasters like floods and more. As a result, vulnerability can be separated into two
categories which are external vulnerability, in which a person is exposed to risks, natural
calamities, shocks, famine, and stress, and internal vulnerability, in which a person feels
defenseless in the face of emergencies. Thus,

Poverty can cause violent crimes because violence is an easy way to obtain a huge quantity
of commodities. Many impoverished offenders believe that the prospect of riches outweighs the
risk of getting arrested. Individuals in this group may be forced to commit crimes in order to
meet basic needs such as housing, healthcare, education, and employment. According to Dr.
Johari Yap, the poor are more likely to be burdened by debts, to be less educated, to have
inadequate health coverage, to have a larger family to care for, and to be victims of crime.
The effects of poverty are devastating among urban communities. As a result, poverty increased
desire that leads to a rise in crime.

2.3 CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME THE ISSUES

One of the challenges for poverty reduction in Malaysia is the migrant worker’s issue.
Malaysia's current development strategies are impacted by globalization and liberalization,
which has consequences for poverty-related activities. The urban poor and migratory workers are
affected by the loss of employment prospects. Since Malaysia is restructuring its economy, there
is a significant demand for job experience and talent. An increase in the number of foreign
employees has had a negative impact on the number of jobless individuals in rural areas. The
expected competition in the local labour market between local and migrant workers, as well as
the vast number of abroad labours, have contributed to serious concerns that have produced
poverty and inequality.

Apart from that, ethnic factors are another barrier to poverty reduction in Malaysia, as
Bumiputera students’ educational and success levels in important economic disciplines are lower
than non-Bumiputera students’. As a result, there is an academic gap between the two industries.
If policymakers refuse to create promising agreements, tensions between ethnic groups will
worsen. As a result, the predicted gap between the poor and the non-poor will expand. The
Malay dominated rural poverty, reminding policymakers to work out what poverty means at the
national level. The Malay rural population is the focus of the NEP 2010 poverty eradication
efforts. Therefore, this illustrates that there is no justice in ethnic equality in obtaining rights.

2.4 SUGGESTIONS THAT CAN BE TAKEN

For an individual one of the ways to help reduce poverty is by giving donates to the poor. As
a human, we need some empathy towards others that needs helps. A lot of people feel deep
sorrow but many believe that there is little we can do about it. Poverty is widespread, yet we
seem powerless to prevent it. Even little donations can make a big difference in someones’ life.
They don't have to be in the form of money all of the time. This might be as simple as donating
books to a disadvantaged child or purchasing groceries for a poor household for a week to aid in
the fight against hunger. For example, donating old clothes, furniture, and toiletries can also aid
in the improvement of the poor's well-being.

Next, Institutions have a crucial role to play to overcome the poverty issues in Malaysia. The
academic and educational communities need to raise awareness about the effects of poverty. For
example, the institutions can organize a campaign of awareness to end poverty helps bring
people together who share the goal of eliminating extreme poverty. This will help the students to
help them feel inspired to create change or act. During this C0VID-19 pandemic, where there is a
restriction of movement order and the students need to do home-based learning which is known
as online learning. This caused restrictions in students’ activities including face-to-face learning.
Therefore, one of the effective methods that the institutions can do is by sharing awareness
campaigns on social media such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. A.U.S. study revealed that
47% of those surveyed were able to learn about the important causes such as global poverty via
social media. Moreover, it showed that 15% gained awareness of issues relating to ending
poverty through social media. As a result, institutions play important role in preventing the
poverty issue by creating awareness which can bring enthusiasm to students to help those who
are affected by poverty issue.

Furthermore, the government should enhance control of immigration in our country. This is
because Malaysians have less job prospects when the population of foreigners rises which
impacts the citizens to get a job. The government must ensure admission of immigration is under
control so that it will not affect the poor or homeless people in job opportunities. Besides,
Government should ensure to increase more job opportunities with high income as it benefits the
living of impoverished people. More small business financing should be made available to the
poor, as well as industrial training and job opportunities, educational help for disadvantaged
children, and better housing. Besides, the government creates a lot more organizational
communities to help the poor people in rural areas. For example, Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia
(AIM) is the most effective poverty eradication 14 model in Malaysia among NGOs. AIM was
founded in 1987 as a private trust with the primary goal of reducing poverty through the supply
of microcredit to the underprivileged. In rural regions, KEMAS and JKKK conducted numerous
community development programmes in rural regions to provide opportunities for the poor to
better socio-economic wellbeing. Other than that, one of the most effective ways to end poverty
is to provide wider opportunities for employment and high income. I believe my opinion and
suggestion would be a good help to conclude the poverty.
Lastly, the government must improve the educational level of underprivileged children in
schools. Education for the underprivileged must be prioritized, as most of these youngsters
cannot afford home-based instruction. For these households, even a book is prohibitively
expensive. As a result, it's difficult to imagine how young children will be able to study without
proper resources like learning materials.‘According to Sidonie Gabrielle,’ the real poverty is a
lack of literature." This quotation is an analogy to the garden of knowledge, which supports the
claim that knowledge is the only greater power that can free a person from poverty's grip. This
could help them to find a better job for a better financial. This proves that assisting these
children's education at home must be prioritized. As a result, all parties and organizations should
work together to ensure that poverty is eradicated in Malaysia.

3.0 CONCLUSION
In conclusion, poverty is one of the most critical issues in Malaysia. If we do not take action
about these problems, it will continue to expand and grow. Poverty affects a large number of
individuals, the majority of whom are poor. Malnutrition affects children in poor countries owing
to a lack of nourishment. As Muslims, it is important for us to address this issue as everyone
preserve a better life and equality. This is related to Maqasid Syariah's goal, which revealed the
preservation of human life in which everyone has the right to have a well-being life. In Malaysia,
there is a clear need for new approaches to poverty reduction in terms of definitions,
measurement, policies, and programs. Based on the study, this essay’s objective is to achieve the
aims of Sustainable Development Goal 1 which is to end poverty in all its forms everywhere. Its
related targets include eradicating extreme poverty for all people everywhere, halving the
proportion of men, women, and children of all ages living in poverty, and implementing
nationally appropriate social security systems and measures for all, including floors, by 2030. I
am convinced that decreasing poverty requires a focus on both what the government, institutions,
and individuals must do.
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